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AN IMPORTANT MESSAGE FROM
THE EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR
ARTICLE PUBLISHED SEP 27 2006: The Idaho Statesman
Reader's view: Valley in dire need of affordable housing
We've seen and heard a lot lately about the high costs of housing in America and our region. Skyrocketing properly taxes, an influx of outside investors buying up local housing units, and a dwindling supply of available land create a vexing set of circumstances for homeowners and those seeking to own a piece of the American dream.
Rising housing costs impact those in the rental market as well. As mortgages increase, so too do rents. Since 2002 the United States median home price has risen 36.6 percent. The more limited the income, the more acute the squeeze. For those living on the margin, there is no margin.
Idaho enjoys almost full employment, and yet more and more people are declaring bankruptcy and finding themselves in need of some kind of subsidy in order to survive. The Boise City/Ada County Housing Authority sees an average of 200 families a month applying for rental assistance in order to stave off homelessness and yet, while the need for affordable housing grows, funding is being reduced.
Telling people on public housing assistance to "get a job" is neither an answer nor an appropriate response to a deeper problem. Many seeking assistance are the working poor, earning salaries that simply can't cover rent. Further compounding the problem, few entry-level jobs provide health insurance, and those workers can scarcely afford to purchase insurance on their own. Those with the fewest resources need an almost perfect world in order to remain solvent. But life happens to everyone - cars break down, people get sick, and suddenly, working people lose their already precarious financial footing, falling into debt and a cycle of poverty with no safety net to catch them.
While the Boise metropolitan area hasn't seen an epidemic of homelessness as severe as some other cities of comparable size, the problem is far more extensive here than most people realize. Such problems don't appear overnight. They start when a significant segment of the population is living on the edge, while at the same time the stock of affordable housing in a community dwindles
As concerned citizens, we need to remind our elected officials that our cherished quality of life in the Treasure Valley depends on the availability of affordable housing. We need to push for continued public support in creating and sustaining affordable housing units and for programs such as those offered by the Boise City/Ada County Housing Authority that impart vital life and financial management skills and foster self-sufficiency among those seeking to enter or reenter the mainstream.
As a society, we cannot rely on government programs alone to address our problems and likewise, the government cannot rely on society alone to address our problems. Hubert Humphrey said, “The moral test of government is how that government treats those who are in the dawn of life, The children; those who are in the twilight of life, the elderly; and those who are in the shadows of life, the needy and the sick, the needy and the handicapped."
It is time we recognize that in the long run, doing the right thing is the right thing.
Deanna Watson is the executive director of Boise City/Ada County Housing Authority
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